Page 29 of Boundaries

Laughter, music, and chit-chat hit my ears and I grinned, waving at Betty when I spotted her. She was wet and had just come in from the sea. She looked stunning in her black swimsuit. Her brown hair was tied into a bun at her nape.

She motioned us over to join her group.

“I didn’t think you were coming,” she chirped as she helped me open my camp chair.

“We thought it started at ten,” Alex replied, rolling out our blanket and setting up his own seat.

“It did, but I think quite a few people got here earlier to get a space,” James, Betty’s boyfriend put in, raising from his seat, and handing me a cold beer from the cooler by his feet. I smiled my thanks. “Anything for you Alex?”

Alex also took a cold one and thanked him as we settled ourselves. James Lyons was one of the good guys. He and Betty had been going out for almost eight months now, they were pretty much married off.

We set ourselves up so we sat in a circle with our stuff shoved into the middle. There were bags, iceboxes with beers and red solo cups scattered across the sand. A beach ball which was partly deflated, had been disregarded and was resting in between a couple of half-attempted sandcastles.

I shuffled into my seat as we all greeted each other.

There were three couples in our group, so six of us in total.

Betty and James, Alex and I and Rachel, a girl I used to go to school with. She introduced her boyfriend as Chris. I assumed this would have been the Chris who’d attended the fight at Mason’s house. He seemed OK. Fairly quiet. His hair was white blonde as were his eyebrows and eyelashes. I sure hoped he had sunblock on, he was the whitest boy I’d ever seen. He also wasn’t that large and I certainly couldn’t imagine him getting in the ring. Maybe he was one of those boys that just like to watch the sport. If you could call it that.

I glanced around the beach; the music was pumping and there was an elevated atmosphere. You could hear the consistent thud from the volleyball which was being played by a group of lads I recognised, but didn’t know that well. Wesley appeared to be keeping score. He had a beer in his hand which he raised to acknowledge me as our eyes met. A girl with black hair was practically draped over him as he stood there, his feet sunk into the sand. Most of the boys were shirtless and wearing board shorts, but a few had T-shirts or tank tops on. I lowered my sunglasses from my head to my eyes so I can have a sly ogle at the sea of naked bods surrounding me.

There must have been around ten different clusters of people with others scattered around the beach. There were also now several girls in the water, and I silently congratulated them on how brave there were. There was no way I was going in there until the sun had more time to warm the sea. The coast of Norfolk could be chilly, even in the summer.

An Ed Sheeran song I liked was playing, and I removed my sandals and pushed my feet into the warm sand.

And then, Betty decided to sour my mood.

“So, what’s the latest with the Nix and Jen saga?” she questioned as she took a sip of her wine. I too had brought wine, but I wasn’t starting out on the heavy stuff too early or I’d be wrecked before lunchtime. Betty could have a skin full and be fine, usually.

I released the sigh of all sighs. “Do we have to talk about it?”

Betty grimaced, her nose wrinkling. “Why not, everyone else is.”

My eyes narrowed and I shifted in my seat, suddenly feeling stiff. “Really?”

Betty and James shot each other a look. “Yes, really. You know they’ve been seen together, right?”

She spoke to me like I was thick, and it annoyed me. Betty knew Nixon wasn’t a subject I liked to discuss and the fact that she had brought him up in front of people who were almost strangers, added an extra punch to my mood.

Crossing my legs, I cleared my throat, my eyes flittering briefly to Rachel and Chris. “No, but I had my suspicions that she’s been sneaking out,” I replied truthfully.

“I saw them in the village the other night,” Alex put in from beside me.

“And you didn’t say anything?” I questioned, darting him a hard look.

He shrugged, “You said you’d decided not to get involved this time.”

He had a point of course.

Betty knocked back another glass of wine, drinking it like it was water. “Sounds like they’re quite tight again.” She pointed out, lowering her voice.

Rolling my shoulders, I hooked my chin her way. “Well, she hasn’t said anything to me.”

An awkward silence stretched between us. Rachel had a bland expression but Chris was now listening intently.

“Do you think she’ll go back to him?” Betty questioned with a flip of her head.

Pursing my lips, I replied. “It’s inevitable, unfortunately. But it won’t last.”

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